Perhaps it was true that video killed the radio star in the 1980’s, but fifty years earlier, Bing Crosby had precious little to worry about.

When he replaced his previous boss, Paul Whiteman, as the host of ‘Kraft Music Hall’, he established himself as a reliable presence, heard in homes all across America for a full decade. If there was any reason for concern, it would have been the possible failure of the recording industry – in the wake of the recession, sales plunged to unsustainable rates.

When Jack Kapp, the head of Decca Records, suggested that they could spark sales by reducing the cost of a single 78-RPM disk from one dollar to thirty-five cents, Bing agreed, settling for a royalty rate instead of a flat fee. Sales skyrocketed, and an important segment of the entertainment industry once again thrived.

Featured tracks include;

1) Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day

2) What a Perfect Combination – Eddie Cantor

3) Goodnight Sweetheart – Russ Columbo

4) Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? – Rudy Vallee

5) Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

6) Wild Cat – Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang

7) Shadow Waltz

8) Love in Bloom

9) Just a Wearyin’ for You

10) The Very Thought of You